Sunday, October 8, 2017

The end of this month marks the day of Halloween. For a lot of countries it is a day of remembrance for those that have passed. There are several different traditions across the world, however, in the US a lot of us will be creating jack-o-lanterns. If you are unfamiliar with the US tradition of making jack-o-lanterns, the pumpkin is scraped out or removed of all the seeds and then the shell is cut and carved into a design (usually a scary face) and then a candle is put inside and lit to have a glow.

The jack-o-lantern originated from a story about of a man named jack who passed away but never went to heaven or hell. The devil gave him a burning coal to light his way and Jack carved out a turnip to place it inside to use for a lantern. Even though the story started with a carved turnip, things eventually evolved into using a pumpkin for the carving. However, outside of Halloween, today there are quite a number of fruits and vegetables that are used in the art of food carving.

You might not be an artist, but you can still have a successful pumpkin carving session this year by bringing out a delicious pumpkin cheesecake for the grand finale. The silky spicy filling topped with a maple sauce and crunchy nuts will have your guests wanting seconds - even if they have to carve another pumpkin for it!

Whisk together the graham cracker crumbs and sugar. Then pour in butter and mix again until it reaches a sandy texture with no dry streaks. Empty into a spring form pan and press evenly in the bottom of the pan. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

Fill a bowl of a stand mixer with the cream cheese. Beat on high speed, stopping at intervals to scrape down the sides of the bowl until the mixture becomes smooth and silky. This should take about 2 minutes. Add one egg and beat for about 30 seconds, or until incorporated into the cream cheese. Repeat the same process with the remaining eggs. Then pour in the syrup and sweetened condensed milk and beat for 30 seconds.

Add the pumpkin puree and beat for another 3 seconds. Lastly, beat in the salt, nutmeg and cinnamon. Pour the filling into the pan, it should be the consistency of cake batter. To remove large air bubbles, tap the pan lightly on the counter.

Place in oven and let bake for about 1 hour and 15 minutes or until done. Cheesecake is done when it is no longer glossy on top and is solid in mass with the exception of a slight jiggly center. Remove from oven and let cool completely and then cover with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator for 1 hour.

The topping, used only at the time of serving, can be made in advance and refrigerated. Pour the cream and syrup in a saucepan and stir together. Then place over medium high heat and let come to a boil. Let the mixture cook, stirring occasionally, for about 25 minutes. The end result will be a thick sauce. Mix in the pecans. Pour into a heat proof bowl and let cool for about 20 minutes. Then cover and place in refrigerator to get cold.

Once you are ready to ladle the topping over the cheesecake, take a moment to mix together again.

Tips and Notes:
1. I found that due to the mixing, this yields a lot of batter. When using rings or ramekins, fill each leaving only 1/4 of an inch from the top edge.

2. The spices are just right for my tastes, however, feel free to add more to filling or add spices to graham crumb mixture.